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Westlake Closes $320M Asset-Backed Securitization

LOS ANGELES — Westlake Financial Services closed its fifth term asset backed securitization (ABS) on May 28. JP Morgan served as structuring lead manager and joint bookrunner with Credit Suisse as the co-lead and joint bookrunner. Wells Fargo and RBS also served as co-managers on the deal.

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According to the subprime finance source, the bond offering was increased from 275MM to 321MM due to significant investor demand. With five classes of bonds offered, from A1+ to BBB, all were at least three times oversubscribed by investors.

“Westlake’s credit performance has been stable and our business remains strong despite competitive pressures,” stated Paul Kerwin, Westlake’s CFO. “We are pleased to see additional names added to our investor base and applaud the efforts of our underwriters in helping make these connections. Our ABS investors can expect us to ramp up our issuances as we continue to make inroads in the franchise dealer market.”

Westlake issued BBB bonds for the first time and achieved a 93% advance rate on the total bond issuance, officials noted.

“Westlake Financial has been consistent for a long time; they have a strong platform, strong credit profile, and a strong company name,” stated John Cho, managing director at JP Morgan. “The bond offering has 15 new investors on the books, which is a large percentage considering there are 31 investors all together. Westlake credit spreads will continue to tighten as investors differentiate that this is a strong platform and liquidity continues to build their name.”

Westlake Financial Services boasts a rapidly growing portfolio, which includes a current portfolio of $1.905 billion in May 2014 up $210 million from May 2013. The dealer base consists of approximately 21,000 dealerships throughout all 50 states. This includes both independent dealerships and a growing market of franchise dealerships.